Last Breath
by TeamDamonSince1864
Summary: Percy Jackson has lived a long life, and now he's dying. Annabeth is already dead. His friends are all dead. Percy is all alone. He hasn't seen his father for fifty years, so when Poseidon turns up on his deathbed, Percy's a little annoyed. Why can't his absent parent stay absent and let him die in peace?


**Hi guys! This is my first Percy Jackson fic, so go easy on me, okay? *nervous laughter* This is sort of angsty and depressing, so if you're not into that sort of thing, this isn't for you. Word of warning: this is questionable writing, at best. Constructive criticism always welcome! Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: Aw, hell no. Definitely not mine- I'm broke, people. The credit must go to the genius, Rick Riordan.**

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Percy Jackson was dying. He knew it, and so did the few friends he had that were still living. To be fair, he supposed it was a miracle that he'd made it all the way to eighty-five. When he was a kid, man, he thought he'd be lucky to see his eighteenth birthday, let alone old age. And now, here he was, dying and alone. Annabeth had passed several years ago due to a brain tumour after fifty years of marriage to Percy. No kids though, they never wanted their own demigod problems to be forced upon their children. Now he was nearly dead.

Percy sat in his squashy old armchair in his Mom's old apartment, fragile fingers toying with a beat-up ballpoint pen. Riptide had been with him through a lot and deserved to be there at the end with him, he thought. The TV flickered, tuned to the Classics channel. It was playing a super old TV show from when he was a kid- _Buffy the Vampire Slayer. _Percy watched as Buffy Summers kicked some vampire butt and thought about how similar she was to him. They both killed monsters, had an awesome mom, an absentee father, superpowers and a predestined fate. Buffy got kicked out of high school and broke stuff- so did he. Peas in a pod, really.

He switched off the television set, slowly shuffled towards the kitchen and put the kettle on. A quivering hand reached out for the teabags, snagging one before dropping it into the waiting mug. Percy leaned against the bench, breathing heavily. Not long now.

The kettle whistled shrilly, the water bubbling inside. He grasped the handle with both hands; the weight was nearly too much for his brittle bones to bear. Water splashed into the mug before turning the dark brown colour of the tea leaves. Clutching the mug, Percy made his way to the bedroom, grunting in pain as his body protested. He sat on the edge of the bed he and Annabeth had once shared, sipping his tea. Slowly, his eyes poured over pictures from his youth. There was he and Annabeth, dirty and bleeding, but grinning hugely at the camera. That was shortly after the Battle of Olympus in Manhattan, he thought. Thalia, Nico and he, the children of the Big Three, Nico looking moody, Thalia looking scary and he, Percy, pulling a stupid face. And there he was with Annabeth, Leo, Piper, Jason, Hazel and Frank on board the _Argo II_, all going about their business. Coach Hedge had taken that when he thought no one was looking, but no one had minded. It was a good picture.

His eyes settled on a three-photo frame hanging over the mirror. It was his wedding day to Annabeth. The weather had been gorgeous- sun shining, flowers in full bloom, not a cloud in the sky. The smiles on their faces were enough to light up the whole galaxy. The other two photos contained wedding photos with their surprise guests- Poseidon and Athena. Their absent parents stood stiffly next to each other, forcing smiles for the sake of their children, trying to conceal their contempt for each other. Annabeth and Percy had been oblivious to their parents' awkwardness; they were too wrapped up in their own happiness to notice, let alone care. It had been the greatest day of his life. But he hadn't seen his father since that day, many, many years ago.

Suddenly Percy was aware of another presence in the room. A humourless smile graced his lips, further wrinkling his already lined face.

"I wondered if you would come," he said to the wall. "I didn't want to get my hopes up, though."

"I… I'm sorry, Percy. If I'd known that your health had deteriorated so rapidly, I'd…" Poseidon's voice trailed off.

"You'd… what? What would you have done?" Percy said bitterly, resentment curdling in his stomach. His father hadn't shown his face in fifty-five years, and now, at the very end of Percy's life, had the nerve to show his face. And for what? To offer his condolences? Apologise? Whatever the reason, Percy didn't appreciate him showing up out of the blue like nothing had changed.

"I don't know, son. But… I'm here now, aren't I?" Poseidon pleaded desperately.

"What are you doing here, Poseidon?" Percy rose slowly and turned to face the God of the Sea, his tea abandoned. Rage flickered behind his sea-green eyes, which were milky with cataracts.

"I'm here to apologise, Percy. I know I made mistakes, leaving you alone for so long… but I don't want you to… to…" he broke off, a little choked up, not that he'd ever admit it. His appearance was virtually unchanged- same shirt, same hat, same shorts. New sandals, though. _Focus, Percy_, he thought to himself. After all these years, his ADHD was still getting the better of him.

"To die? Well, I'll tell you what Dad, that's part of life. Us lower being have this annoying tendency to grow up, get old and die. Not everyone lives forever, you know." Percy snapped. Why didn't Poseidon understand that the last person he wanted at his deathbed was one who would never have to experience death themselves?

Poseidon looked down but remained in the small room. _Geez, dude, _Percy thought, _just go away and let me die already._..

After what felt to Percy like an eternity, Poseidon finally spoke.

"It doesn't have to be this way, son. I… I can stop this, before it takes you. I can make you immortal, a god. That way, you will never die. You can live, forever."

Percy sat back on the bed in shock. Whatever he'd been expecting, that wasn't it. He slumped forward, holding his head in his hands.

"Are you joking?" He said finally. "Are you serious?"

"You know me, Percy, I'm not really one for jokes," Poseidon replied, smiling half-heartedly. "Why, do you not want it?"

"Just… just give a minute to process, okay?" Percy stammered. Immortality… no more pain, no more bills and taxes… he could make himself young again… it all sounded alright. But then he thought of Annabeth, already gone. Waiting in Elysium- for him. All his friends were already dead, killed either in battle or of old age. He was the only one left- and he didn't want to be alone forever. He wanted to see the love of his life and his friends again.

Several minutes passed before Percy spoke again.

"No. Thanks, but no."

Poseidon was astounded.

"But… but Percy, I hope you realise what you've rejected, here. You could live _forever_! We could rule the ocean together! The whole world could be yours!" Poseidon pleaded, eyes shining. He didn't want his son to die, especially without letting him make things right with Percy. He knew that his favourite son resented him, and rightfully so. He'd been a terrible parent.

All this Percy could see his father knew. He watched closely as emotion flickered across Poseidon's face like a film tape. Desperation. Disappointment. Self-loathing. And finally, defeat at the resolved expression on his son's face. He wouldn't take his father's final gift.

"Why?" Poseidon asked curiously as Percy climbed into bed, pulling up the sheets.

"Annabeth… my friends… Elysium, waiting," Percy gasped between rasping coughs. Poseidon winced at the awful sound his son was eliciting. So that was his reason.

Percy eyes began to glaze over, fixed at a point on the ceiling.

"No! No, Percy, stay with me! I've got so much to say, so much to make up for! You can't… you can't go!" A tear trickled down Poseidon's cheek as he screamed in desperation at his son.

Percy's head turned towards his father. He gazed into his father's eyes and saw the sincerity blazing behind his orbs. In that moment, he let go of his hatred and resentment of his father. Percy grasped his father's hand and squeezed as tight as he could. With his final breaths, he managed to form a few final words.

"_I… love… you."_

A face made its way to the front of his mind- a young girl with blonde hair, age twelve. Annabeth. He could finally see her again. As this single happy thought made his heart sing with excitement, he focused on a white light growing ever closer, unable to hear his father's anguished cries. His eyes closed, a small smile on his face. One final breath escaped his lungs.

Percy Jackson lived no more.


End file.
